Swim Cadence
Tesseract
Posts: 280
in General Chat
OK, so I've been thinking about this for a while and my inquisitive mind can't let it go as I haven't found a decent answer...
For cycling and running the magic number for cadence is 90. It's all about a quick fluid pace. We're told to stay away from powering it, especially on the bike - no big gears and burning quads.
But on the swim it's all about less strokes, longer strokes, and more power. Now I know we're talking about water instead of air, but as the medium we're moving through is thicker, you'd think the princliples apply even more. If we shouldn't use a high gear and lots of leg power on the bike, why do we do the equivalent in the swim? Is it just because we will hardly use our upper bodies for the rest of the race? (relatively speaking)
I did read a recent article in 220 about lengthening running stride, but it still talked about keeping a high cadence.
It will probably need someone with a degree in sports science, physics and biology to really explain this, but anyone want to give it a shot?
For cycling and running the magic number for cadence is 90. It's all about a quick fluid pace. We're told to stay away from powering it, especially on the bike - no big gears and burning quads.
But on the swim it's all about less strokes, longer strokes, and more power. Now I know we're talking about water instead of air, but as the medium we're moving through is thicker, you'd think the princliples apply even more. If we shouldn't use a high gear and lots of leg power on the bike, why do we do the equivalent in the swim? Is it just because we will hardly use our upper bodies for the rest of the race? (relatively speaking)
I did read a recent article in 220 about lengthening running stride, but it still talked about keeping a high cadence.
It will probably need someone with a degree in sports science, physics and biology to really explain this, but anyone want to give it a shot?
0
Comments
Less efficient propulsion due to slipping more water.
Increased drag due to less hydrodynamic profile.
If you can increase your stroke speed (?cadence) without affecting your spl (strokes per length) then you will swim faster. If you have to sacrifice spl to swim faster then you have to ask if it is worth the effort.
As with all these things there is no absolute answer, it comes down to personal choice.